Isabel II

b. 10 Oct 1830, Madrid, Spain
d. 9 Apr 1904, Paris, France

﻿Title:

Por la gracia de Dios, Reina de Castilla, de León, de Aragón, de las dos Sicilias, de Jerusalén, de Navarra, de Granada, de Toledo, de Valencia, de Galicia, de Mallorca, de Menorca, de Sevilla, de Cerdeña, de Córdoba, de Córcega, de Murcia, de Jaén, del Algarve, de Algeciras, de Gibraltar, de las Islas Canarias, de las Indias Orientales y Occidentales, de las Islas y Tierrafirme del Continente Oceánico, Archiduquesa de Austria, Duquesa de Borgoña, de Brabante y de Milán, Condesa de Abspurg, de Flandes, del Tirol y de Barcelona, Señora de Vizcaya y de Molina, etc. (By the Grace of God, Queen of Castile, of Leon, of Aragon, of the Two Sicilies, of Jerusalem, of Navarre, of Granada, of Toledo, of Valencia, of Galicia, of Mallorca, of Minorca, of Seville, of Sardinia, of Cordoba, of Corsica, of Murcia, of Jaen, of the Algarve, of Algeciras, of Gibraltar, of the Canary Islands, of the East and West Indies, of the Islands and Mainland of the Ocean Continent, Archduchess of Austria, Countess of Burgundy, of Brabant and Milan, Count of Habsburg, of Flanders, of Tyrol, and of Barcelona, Lady of Vizcaya and of Molina, etc.)

Daughter of King Fernando VII and Queen María Cristina; was recognized as heir apparent to the throne of the Spains in accordance with the Pragmática Sanción (Pragmatic Sanction) enacted by Fernando VII in place of a law, providing for predominantly male succession; succeeded to the throne upon the death of her father, provoking immediate opposition led by Carlos María Isidro Benito de Borbón y de Borbón-Parma, Infante of Spain, brother of Fernando VII and first Carlist claimant; until Isabel reached the age of 13, the actual government was entrusted to her mother, María Cristina who became Queen Regent (29 Sep 1833 - 12 Oct 1840); after the resignation of her mother (12 Oct 1840), the regential authority was collectively exercised by ministers of the crown acting as Provisional Regency (12 Oct 1840 - 10 May 1841) and then by Regent Baldomero Espartero (10 May 1841 - 30 Jul 1843); the young queen was placed under tutorship of Agustín Argüelles Álvarez (10 Jul 1841 - 28 Jul 1843), and later Francisco Javier Castaños y Aragorri, duque de Bailén (28 Jul 1843 - 8 Nov 1843); was declared to have attained majority by the Cortes (8 Nov 1843) and took the oath to uphold the Constitution (10 Nov 1843); married her first cousin, Infante Francisco de Asís María Fernando de Borbón y de Borbón-Dos Sicilias, grandson of King Carlos IV, and on the wedding day (10 Oct 1846) issued Real Decreto conferring on him the style Rey de las Españas; favoured a rigid court conservatism, practicing arbitrary political interference; from 1843 to 1854, ruled with the support of generals, especially Ramón María Narváez y Campos (duque de Valencia [1845]), who dominated domestic politics; promulgated (23 May 1845) the Constitution, a conservative revision of 1837; following a liberal pronunciamento (1854) led by general Leopoldo O'Donnell y Jorris (conde de Lucena [1839], duque de Tetuán [1860], vizconde de Aliaga), entrusted the government to the former regent, Espartero as President of the Council of Ministers (19 Jul 1854 - 14 Jul 1856), who unsuccessfully worked for creation of more liberal Constitution; despite growing unpopularity aggravated by reports on her scandalous private life, continued to govern relying on the governments led by O'Donnell's Unión Liberal (1856-1863); weakened by the deaths of O'Donnell (1867) and Narváez (1868), found herself in political isolation during the revolution of 1868 and preferred to go into exile; settled in Paris, where she abdicated (25 Jun 1870) in favour of her son, the future Alfonso XII.

Gaceta de Madrid, del sábado 3 de Abril de 1830. Núm. 40. PP. 167-168; the Pragmática Sanción was abrogated by Fernando VII during his severe illness on 18 Sep 1832 and again restored according to a royal decree of 31 Dec 1832.